Every Moment Counts
by NeoAlchemist
Summary: It was her first expedition outside the walls with the Survey Corps when she first saw him, as elegant as a bird. Starting off as a humble rookie, he changed her to become stronger. But will their friendship and respect grow into something more as the years pass by? Read to find out. LevixHanji
1. Chapter 1

Hi everyone! This is my first fanfiction story since becoming a proud member (yay)! So I sincerely hope that you'll enjoy and I apologize if I made any rookie mistakes (publishing is hard) ^^ Please read on and I hope to get more support to write more chapters and stories. Thanks a whole bunch~ Sorry if I'm out of character when it comes to either Levi or Hanji, but that's because this is when they were still new to the Survey Corps.

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Chapter 1

Today was her first expedition outside the walls, and she was excited to explore new grounds and see titans for the first time.

That was until she saw them eat her friends.

Hanji spotted a ten meter titan dashing towards her after their team split up during the minor riot. She and her close friend, Myelene, stayed together but stumbled into an abandoned village quite far from the main group. "Hanji! The titan is getting closer! What do we do?!" Hanji was never the type to think clearly the first time. But as they neared a church amidst the small simple houses, she came with an idea. "Let's go up there! Leave the horses, it won't go after them." Her companion nodded and they both hooked their maneuver gear to the wall of the church as they passed it, immediately pulled out of their horses and onto the hard brick roof. The titan was still quite far from them, but began to advance in high speed.

Myelene shuddered, and they both knew that she was terrified. Hanji put her hand on her friend's shoulder. "D-don't worry, Myelene. W-we'll make it through t-this, even if it is our first expedition." Myelene shot her an uneasy glare. "You're not doing so well yourself!" She then perked up at the sudden idea she had to kill it. The titan was now only a few meters away now. "Hanji, I'll cut off it's legs and you'll go for the kill, knowing that you can make deeper cuts than me. Plus staying here will be no good, since it's taller than the church." Not knowing any other plan at the moment, she decided to go along with it. As it neared them, Myelene sprung out from the shadows of the church and hooked her maneuver gear to the wall opposite of the titan's legs and cut its ankles, making it fall face-first into the ground. At this, Hanji saw an opportunity and jumped down from the tower, her arms in ready position.

She was so sure that this would be her first kill, and smiled inwardly. However, halfway there, the titan suddenly turned its body towards her, unexpectedly. She panicked and screamed as it brought its head up without warning. Time seemed to slow down. Every heartbeat felt like a long second. Within those few moments, a hook whipped in between the two and imbedded itself into the wall in slow motion. Hanji turned to see who it was, until she was knocked to the side and made impact with the hard brick and fell with a bloody head.

From the floor, the woman groggily lifted her head, not expecting to witness the horror. Her eyes widened as blood splattered everywhere.

Myelene gazed at her with half closed eyes. "H-Hanji...!" The titan shoved the girl into its mouth, devouring the human whole. In response, Hanji could only stare, dumbfounded at what had become of her friend. Steam rolled of of the titan's ankles and it became able to stand again. As it got on its feet once more was when it noticed the woman, who just sat there to its side. It slowly turned to her and reached out, closing the distance in between.

That was when she first noticed him.

Graceful like a dancer, deadly as a snake, did he cut through the back of the titan's neck like paper. Its eyes rolled back and it collapsed to its side. Smoke appeared on the body just behind him as he landed in a crouch and advanced upon Hanji, looking down at the bleeding woman. "Oi, you look like shit, bloody pig." She cast her view to him and noticed that he was perfectly clean, despite all the blood, unlike her. The man had short, straight and dark hair with sharp blue eyes. She also noticed with an inward snort, that he was shorter than she thought. They held their gaze for a few moments of silence, until a troop of horses and men back him up. A young blonde man with pale blue eyes followed by his golden-haired, grey-eyed friend made their way up to the two. The grey-eyed friend spoke first. "Levi, there you are. You suddenly left the group so we followed your horse," They then noticed Hanji on the floor still. Levi turned to them and asked, "What is someone so shitty doing here, Mike, Irvin?" Medics came up behind him to treat the woman as Irvin sighed, "That's right, you two haven't met yet. We'll save introductions for later. Right now we have to get back to the inner walls."

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Hanji locked herself in her room the next day. And when she did go out, it was to take walks to clear out her mind. She didn't even notice that she had stumbled into mud until she felt the cool slimy earth on her cheeks. Getting up she walked right inside the main room again and up to her room once more. Levi just happened to be at the main floor when he saw the pathetic, _dirty_ woman walk up the stairs. It disgusted him that someone could care less about their hygiene. Just seeing the mud trails on the floor made a vein pop out of his forehead. Without hesitation the man grabbed a mop and cleaned the mess, grumbling about the tiny bacteria. As he made his way up, the mud eventually stopped at Hanji's room. Levi banged hard on the wooden door, with no reply. "Hey, pig. You keep leaving the place filthy. It's sickening and foul." No one answered. This annoyed him, but then he thought, "Why bother?" Yet the feeling of grime, especially in that mud-rolling freak's room, irked him to barge in the door. Levi saw Hanji sitting on the floor beside her table, still dumbfounded, and still caked. Without wavering, he paraded towards her and grabbed the girl by the hair so that she now stood up. But Hanji had to bend a little so that they came eye to eye. She held on to the hand with a yelp. But staring into her new teammate's eyes, she could tell he was dead serious. Saying nothing, he tossed her suddenly onto her bed. The man loomed over the woman with an apathetic look on his face.

"You don't know the first thing about being on the Survey Corps, _rookie_," She grimaced at this, knowing that they were both first years. "We've just met, but you already disappoint me." She was still confused."Wha..?"

He brought his face close, but not too close, considering the muck. Levi continued, "Being on the Survey Corps does not mean everyone will live every expedition. We join, knowing our close ones may or may not die. And we continue our job with few, if at all any tears because we know that we are the ones who lived through what they did not. We are aware of our possible losses. If a teammate dies, we. Do. Not. Freeze. Up." Hanji's eyes widened in shock. Inside she knew that he was right. Myelene would've never approved of it if she were to die then and there. A flick on her forehead brought her back to her senses, and she was suddenly aware of her own mess.

Levi noted her uneasiness and pinched her ear, bringing her to the washroom. "Ow, ow, ow!" Hanji exclaimed. He then shoved her in and slammed the door shut. "You smell of feces. Come out filthy and you'll regret it." From inside the washroom she smiled at her new friend and began to clean herself.

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Yes! *Fist pump* first chapter done! I'll be writing more during the year soon but progress will come slower since it's the school year so... But I'll try my best! Thanks for reading, please look forward to more ^0^


	2. Chapter 2

Hello everyone again. I noticed that Levi's character is a bit hard to display for me so spare me if I'm a bit OOC. The same goes for Hanji, but this is a few years ago before her love for titans so... I hope that this chapter will be three times better than the last.

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Chapter 2

Ever since that faithful day Hanji's mood brightened ever than better. Almost to the point where her personality became extremely, and dangerously, eccentric, especially around Levi. Hanji trained and trained almost all day, everyday. Wherever she was, be it on the battlefield or at the headquarters, she would immediately grab her maneuver gear and a pair of swords and glide through the trees. She was determined to not lose any more of her friends to those titans if she could help it.

Today Hanji strapped on her 3D gear and headed straight for the training grounds early in the morning, just as the sun was rising. Gliding through the forest, she spun and sliced through the hard material of the dummy titan's neck. Looking back she realized that it wasn't her best cut. "Tch, not deep enough," The woman landed on the tree opposite and bounded back towards it, this time using both blades. Before she could make contact, a black shadow sliced across the dummy and landed on the tree Hanji just jumped off of. The girl landed to the ground and looked with awe at the wooden figure. The cut sliced all the way through the tough leather and stopped halfway of the wooden neck, almost decapitating the thing. She looked over to the tree to see her friend putting away his blades and beamed. "Wow Levi! That was amazing! Maybe you can teach me how to fight like that!"

But he only turned with a simple, "No." and swung away on his gear from tree to tree. Hanji grinned and followed after him, doing backflips and swinging like a free monkey. "Yahooo!" she hollered.

Finally Levi stopped on a branch and and turned to look at her. The woman smiled big at him, and instead of landing next to the man, she crashed straight into an unsuspecting Levi. "I-idiot!" She snickered as the two fell off the tree and headed straight for the ground. The whole time she laughed, Levi tried to free her of him, prying at her hands around his sides. "Oi! Hanji! Let go of me!" The girl just started screaming of adrenalin. "But were faaalling!" Just before they hit the ground Levi grumbled and aimed his maneuver gear a few trees ahead of them. The two started to swing forward, their feet skimming the grass. Then he realized that the hook wasn't fastened on tightly on the bark, and they both stumbled across the soft earth.

Eventually they came to a stop and Hanji let out a sigh. For a few moments of silence, she lay there, unaware of her surroundings, just that she got a few seconds of a breather from her thrill. The sound of a heartbeat, and a groan, made her come to her senses. She suddenly felt the rise and fall of a chest, but instead of lifting her head up, she let it lay there, listening to the unexpected pace of the heart; finding odd peace in the rhythm.

"Get off me, you're heavy, and filthy." Levi tried pushing her away but the woman just wouldn't budge. Instead she hugged tight onto him, putting her ear on his chest. He grimaced at the sudden action. "You better explain yourself, wench." After seconds of silence, she looked up at his face and grinned. "Levi. You have a very powerful heartbeat! It's interesting to listen to... oh, it picked up!" She put her head back down to listen, not seeing the faint blush spread across the man's angry face. He averted his eyes away and looked at the on-coming sunrise. Finally moving her arms out from his ribs and lifting her to his side, he got up and started to walk away. "The sun is up and people will be here soon. It'll be inconvenient if someone saw what just happened and misunderstand." Hanji cocked her head to the side from where she sat, but then followed after him. Levi shifted a bit to the side as he walked back but Hanji moved in right next to him, much to his displeasure. "They know we're just friends, Levi. So don't get too worked up. Eh, why are you moving away from me?" He growled and dusted off his shoulder. "Don't come near me if you're going to be unhygienic." The woman smiled big and pointed back to headquarters. "Then we'll get cleaned and have breakfast together!" He only sighed and tried to look away from her whenever she put her smirking face in front of his.

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Levi sat in the corner of the cafeteria near the window with a decent plate of eggs, ham and orange juice. He exhaled at his plate and tucked in his scarf a little more, lifting up the fork and knife to start his meal in gladness. Raising the egg piece to his mouth, Levi paused halfway to see Hanji enter the cafeteria. The man looked to the window instead, hoping she wouldn't see him and go away.

"Levi!" He was the first thing she saw in the cafeteria; figured he'd be at the corner window where he always sat in peace. She grabbed a loaf of bread and a bottle of milk from the counter of food and headed straight towards him.

Damned woman, Levi thought. How does she always find me? He continued to eat in silence, ignoring her as she came closer. She came and smiled at him with only a loaf and a bottle of milk. "Mind if I eat with you?" He replied with a blunt, "Yes, I do mind." Hanji disregarded the comment and seated herself across from him, staring as he continued to quietly eat his breakfast. Finally she asked, "Why were you in the training grounds this morning?"

"Training." he said and resumed eating. Hanji took a bite off of her loaf and continued with a mouthful. "But someone as good as you doesn't need to train." Levi grimaced at the crumbs flying out of her mouth to land on the table. "Do you even have manners?" The woman only stared at him, waiting for an answer with a chubby smile. He sighed and looked up at her through his lashes answering with a question, "Can I not train?" At this she shook her head vigorously and swallowed hard. "Oh no no. Of course you can! You could've just told me and we could train together! We'd be the ultimate tag team!" Levi huffed at this while bringing his juice to his lips. "I highly doubt you'd even be on my squad." Hanji saw what he was drinking and immediately put her hand over the glass, making Levi press his lips on her fingers. He looked up at her with annoyance and put his drink down. "What is your problem?" She only shook her head and offered him her drink, opening the cap and putting a straw in. She smiled big, flashing the drink in front of him while he only turned his head away to drink at his juice again. Hanji firmly put it down again and offered her bottle. "Drink, it's milk."

"Your point is?" The woman got up and went behind him, hooking her finger on the corner of his mouth. "It'll make you grow taller!" A vein popped in his forehead and he tried to lower her hand, but she kept on urging him to drink as she shoved the straw in between his lips. "Oi! Get your filthy fingers away from my face." But at this she managed to annoy him into taking it finally and sat back at her seat, observing him through her glasses as he took only sips before putting it down. "Satisfied?" he said in a low growl. Yet Hanji only stared. "What now." It was more of a demand than a question.

She suddenly asked, "Levi, where did you come from? You only joined recently and was not one of the graduates before." The man finished the last of his breakfast and set down his fork and knife, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He then got up from his seat and left the table, but not without saying, "Another time."

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Well I hope I left you wondering what he will say (unless you either watched the anime or read the manga then you'll know his past... well part of it) but nonetheless I actually had fun with this chapter. Hope to write again and please leave reviews, it motivates me to write more.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone! I am so sorry for the late update! lately school has been very busy! please leave reviews and thanks for the few who did leave any :) they helped to motivate me throughout writing! ENJOY *heart heart heart heart*

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People came and went today. Most likely because titans were spotted near the wall, and that didn't stop Hanji from wanting to join along with her team. But she didn't like the looks people gave them whenever the Survey Corps passed through the village. It was as if they either felt pity or disappointment towards the crew that grew smaller every trip. It was the moment she hated most in being a proud member.

Yet today was a bit different from the usual gazes. As the team passed through the people to the grand entrance, Hanji noted that their eyes glazed with mixed emotions. Some people were afraid. Others only mocked their presence with lopsided smirks. Perhaps they thought that this would be the Survey Corps' time to shine.

Hanji was no fool.

Riding her horse up to the front of the squad, she met up with Corporal Levi, she gave him a big smile. He glanced at her sideways then flicked his eyes back. "That stupid grin of yours is fake." The woman looked straight again but still kept a small glimmer. "These people think of us as fools."

"They are the fools, for they cannot step outside wearing the same simple-minded smirk you put on every time."

Hanji raised her eyebrows in surprise as they finally exited the walls. "Is that a compliment?"

Levi looked only forward, to the titans in the far distance. It seemed that they were close enough you could see their grotesque bodies. It bothered him that such filthy scum roamed the Earth. But then, who was he to complain after knowing how impure humans themselves can get.

"No."

Then the squad spread out like a blanket and headed straight to the titans while a few others went around to flank them. It was a good thing that they were in a forested area, otherwise, attack would've been extremely difficult. Hanji was one of the flankers and crossed to the trees just behind a six meter giant. Busy with its opponents up front, it didn't notice her swooping down to make her kill and back up again like a hawk after catching its meal. Things were going great, and Hanji smiled, noticing her improvement. She looked to find Levi making kill after kill among the slight chaos. _Still as graceful as last time, _she thought.

Turning to find more titans, Hanji then heard a scream, then several. The slight chaos became an even greater one. Her eyes slightly widened at the titan, who used a strange method to get through the Corps' line of soldiers. "Aberrant!" she yelled to her teammates. She barked orders to her squad and took another look at this certain titan among the others. It had faster reflexes than the rest and it regenerated in an insanely fast pace, making it both difficult and annoying to kill while it ate her team members one by one. She looked towards her corporal, but he was too busy taking care of titans ten on one (well it seemed like ten on one because he was the only soldier who stood out among the rest).

So this had to be solved by herself this time.

Jumping down from the branch she swung towards the aberrant, and grimaced as the scene came closing in. It was a bloody sight, with the titan messily tearing her squad members apart like a dog. She screamed in rage and the titan looked up. But just before it could react, the woman sliced through the back of its neck. She wasn't done with it yet. As soon as Hanji passed its head she twisted back around and hooked her maneuver gear to its shoulder and sliced off its limbs, spinning to finish off. Hanji turned and looked back at the titan, not caring about the remaining ones that the rest of her squad were taking care of. There were tears in her eyes, fogging up her goggles and blood that covered her blades and arms.

The hand of the aberrant lay on her feet, smoking up like the rest of the body. She picked it up and her teary eyes widened in shock. It was incredibly light despite the size of the thing; like holding a feather. Weighing it in her hands she suddenly felt not rage, but rather... curiosity. Hanji turned the arm and looked inside of it. It was just like any other arm; meat bones and all. Yet what was making it so weightless? And why was it heavy when still attached to the titan? While she pondered about this, the rest of the Survey Corps finished up with their work, there were no more titans in the area.

Corporal Levi landed beside Hanji and looked at the titan, who was now only a pile of smoke. He looked over to what she was holding in her arms, only to see that it was smoking and bloody. His pupils dilated and he immediately grabbed her wrist, wrenching it to himself, not caring about the blood. He examined her arm, to find that it was perfectly fine. She grimaced in slight pain and tried to pull away. Still he grabbed her other wrist and put both up in front of his face, rubbing his fingers into the soft skin. The man found no wounds and threw her arms down with a slightly frustrated sigh.

"I'm fine, Levi," Hanji said with a big smile. His eye twitched and he rubbed his now bloodied hands with a handkerchief. "Such repulsive manners, daring to touch the thing even when it is dead."

She grinned and wiped her own hands on her uniform as they walked towards their horses. "Don't be shy. I know you were worried about me."

And at that moment she remembered the arm. Her mind thought up the different theories as she stared into the distance. Levi looked at her before getting on his horse. For the first time she was actually deep in thought. He decided to leave it alone, getting his hands dirty was enough for the day.

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The next few days Levi ate lunch by himself at the usual place. He silently chewed on the soft slice of meat with pleasure. A rarity that only the top corporals had the leisure to eat. But somehow his meal seemed incomplete. Looking up from his place on the table he scanned the room; and his eyes once again stopped at the empty chair in front of him. Despite being sharp, the man just didn't know why his food tasted slightly less than it was a few days ago. The meat had less flavour, and the carrots tasted stale. For some reason, as soon as he finished his cuisine, he decided to wait. His glass was empty by the time a vein popped in his forehead. "Where is she..." he mumbled under his breath. With that the man looked out the window for a long time, contemplating on why she hadn't gone to lunch yet.

Then he heard the clatter of the slight screech of the chair and the clatter of a plate. He looked to see with light interest, hoping it would be who he thought it was.

"Hey, Levi." he averted his eyes to the person opposite and frowned. It was Mike. Immediately he got up with his plate and walked over to the food counter to hand in his plate. Despite his rude action Mike still smiled and called out to him, "She's out, Levi."

He grunted and replied, "Who said I was looking for her?" With that Levi strode right out the door to the courtyard. Mike shook his head and smirked in amusement as he saw the other man amble outside and walk the perimeter.

After about an hour of looking he decided to go to the training grounds. _Maybe she's training..._ Instantly he waved the thought away. "Why am I looking for her?! Tch, I should just go back."

Next thing he knew he was strapped up and stood at the base of the forest filled with titan dummies. His eye twitched in irritation. "You're just here to train," he confirmed to himself. He hooked his maneuver gear towards the trees and glided gracefully through the foliage, cutting through all the titans he saw. This went on for another thirty minutes until he stopped and landed on a large branch. Sitting down, he remembered that day when the idiot crashed into him instead of landing beside him. Levi clutched his blade in frustration. _Why am I thinking about it?!_ In annoyance he hooked his gear to the dummy opposite and instead of cutting he landed and balanced himself on the wood. Taking his blade he stabbed the leather deep. He stabbed again and again at the material until it was torn to bits.

Staring at it with an apathetic expression, he went back in disappointment.

He let his feet guide him to his room and for some reason he started knocking on the door.

"Come in." a voice called out. He frowned and entered the room. There he found Hanji sitting on her table reading something. Without looking up she asked, "Is there anything you need, Levi?"

"This is my room."

She looked up and turned to him. "Um, no, this is my room." Levi then came to his senses and looked around. Her stuff was scattered rather messily around the room. Surely this was NOT his room. He would never treat it this way. A dark expression shadowed across his face. _That lying bastard. _

Levi walked up to see what she was reading and saw that it was an encyclopedia on titans. To be honest, there really wasn't much contained inside; only what they looked like, how to kill them, and the brief history. She smiled big at him and patted the book. "I've learned so much from these titans, Levi! Would you like to hear about it?" Without a word, he grabbed another chair from the room and sat next to her. "I have nothing else to do anyway," he mumbled. "As much as these things disgust me, it would be entertaining to have you enlighten me on them."

With that she grinned and then lectured him on her research. She rambled on for a good two and a half hours before he grew tired and regretted asking. _This woman... is obsessed._ He frowned and looked around the room not really listening anymore, looking for an excuse to make her shut up. "But then, it's so confusing! How light it actually is despite its-"

Levi cut her off. "Your room is messy." She looked around too with slight interest. "Yes, it is."

"Clean it."

"What? Why?"

He sighed. "Do you need a reason?"

"No, not really."

"Oh, so you want to live like a pig."

Without waiting for a response he went out the room and came back with a cleaning kit. He began mopping the floor and throwing the junk and clothes on the bed. When he got to her desk he lifted her up without hesitation. She squealed a bit at his wet gloves. "L-Levi-" He threw her on the bed away from the desk. She hit her head on the frame and rubbed her new bruise. Looking back she saw that he was actually making progress. Within a few minutes the room was sparkling clean, except for her bed which was filled with her clothes and other junk. Hanji raised her eyebrows at the sight and smirked.

"That was pretty quick. You could be a killer for germs." He grunted and went to put away the supplies.

"I am a killer of germs."

At that Hanji burst out laughing and fell to the floor holding her stomach. "So you do have a sense of humour! Shishishi..." She then noticed that he never came back and looked out her door, only to see him descend the stairs. "Hey, where are you going?" He looked up at her and shrugged, continuing down the stairs. She followed up after him and they both walked outside on a stroll. It was funny how she had to avert her eyes downward to see his face. "Hey, Levi. Tonight I'm going out drinking with my friends."

"What does this have to do with me?"

She shrugged and replied, "Just wondering if you wanted to tag along. You know, we could be drinking buddies sometime."

"Now why would I do something so... germ-ridden with a bunch of fools?" Hanji smiled and went in front of him, stopping their walk. She leaned down a bit so they were face to face. "It's up to you. You always like to live in luxury, why not just hang out with friends? It's not necessarily unhygienic. Unless you would want to see me drunk too?" She clasped her hands to her chest and looked skyward. "Oh poor me! What will I do? I'm all alone in the pub, drunk to death, with no one to take me home!" His eye twitched and he walked around her. "That's what your _other _friends are for, not your corporal."

Hanji pouted at his back, then yelled at the top of her lungs, "Levi you're a dummy who can't take a little alcohol!" With that she ran away. _Most likely to the local pub to join her friends,_ he thought. He then gazed back at her, running opposite from him. "I can take alcohol," he murmured. The sun was just about to set. "Just not you."

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Yes, yes, I know there wasn't enough LevixHanji moments in this one (I apologize)! And again I'm sooo sorry for late update! Also the next one will definitely be faster to update so please leave reviews! I live off them! They give me energy (not really)! But still! Please look forward to the next chapter where there will be plenty of LevixHanji moments. Also, criticism is allowed (so long as it's not entirely rude) I want to improve my writing skills and I need YOUR help!


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